Ridge Assembly Church supplies thousands of people with Thanksgiving meals

Little Rock, Arkansas – Serving thousands of people in advance of Thanksgiving, the Ridge Assembly Church in Sherwood hosted their second annual Thanksgiving at the Ridge Giveaway this past weekend.

The purpose of this massive holiday giveaway was to alleviate Arkansans’ financial burden as Thanksgiving draws near.

Christa Meckfessel, co-pastor and administrator of The Ridge Assembly, stated, “It is very important that we are community-minded, we are outward-minded, and we want to sow and bless others.”

When Ridge Assembly noticed a need for holiday aid last year, the church jumped right in.
It was a financial concern for hard-working households. just become a problem. They were having trouble buying groceries. We discovered that it wasn’t simply those living in poverty; rather, it was families with two incomes who were having financial difficulties,” Meckfessel added.

Families and people from all around the state are waiting in line for their gatherings to include stuffing, canned goods, a ten-pound sack of potatoes, and either a honeysuckle turkey or a petit jean ham.

“Many families, broken-up families, dysfunctional families. Everyone can sort of make amends, come together, and celebrate something together during this one time of year. Therefore, we wanted to assist in making it happen. According to Meckfessel, the congregation raised $20,000 of the approximately $35,000 that Ridge Assembly spent on this outreach, with the remaining funds coming from their pantry grant from the Hunger Relief Alliance.

To help give back, more than 100 volunteers attended the event.

“Remembering to get out here and serve is always vital. Remembering to get out there and bless others is always vital. And that’s essentially our goal and what we always want to do,” Derrick Dawkins, volunteer coordinator for the Ridge Assembly’s giveaway, stated.

Many recipients, including one who is temporarily unable to work due to recent surgery, would not have been able to eat a typical Thanksgiving dinner without the more than 5,000 bags that were to be brought home.

“Oh, this has been really beneficial, really…This has been really simple. I’m not at all embarrassed… We wouldn’t be able to celebrate Thanksgiving this year if I hadn’t had this,” Shelia Elliot stated. Elliot went on, “Very blessed, very blessed,”
“Glory be to God. All of this would not be possible without him, and the vessels he placed here would not have been able to assist these people. It’s an emotion that’s difficult to describe. It’s undoubtedly a blessing because it’s overwhelming,” Dawkins remarked.

Ridge Assembly says they intend to feed even more in the future, even though their numbers have already increased significantly for their second year of the giveaway.